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The Search for a WondLaful Cover (Part I)

While my first draft of The Battle for WondLa was read by my editor and trusted beta-readers, I switched my focus from writing to drawing. In particular, drawing the perfect cover image to depict the climatic conclusion of the WondLa trilogy.

I had started with sketches of Eva, just to reacquaint myself with her visually. Some readers have noticed that I’ve explored different visual motifs with Eva in each book. In the third story she returns to the knotty braids she had in book 1, though with elements of the forest (like seedpods and feathers) woven into her colorless hair. To me, this signifies her relationship and bond with the natural world.

The juxtaposition of Eva as a “nymph of the forest” facing the reality of war was something I wanted to convey on this jacket…especially a jacket with the word “Battle” in its title.

My first idea was of Eva on the precipice of a city in fiery ruin. It was Eva on the brink of war.

However, this seemed a bit of a static, posed image to me. Next, I tried for a scene with a bit more action in it. Something to draw the reader into the peril Eva faces in the story.

Both concepts needed refining, but I sent them off to the art director at Simon & Schuster to see how the team there would react. They preferred Eva on the rim, but suggested she be posed in a more heroic and determined stance. I returned to the sketch and tried for a more natural pose that I’d hope would suggest Eva’s confidence.

This piece didn’t have the wow-factor for me. Eva looked stiff and overall it seemed weaker than the first sketch. Also, in my attempt to make her more (super)heroic by blowing her poncho up (thus alluding to a cape), I ended up making her look as though she now had fairy wings. I shelved this sketch and tried for another concept altogether. Perhaps placing her in the chaos of the city under attack would ramp up the drama. In this setting, I could contrast the fear and panic of the crowd with the calm determination of Eva.

I liked where this was heading, and it looked different than anything I had seen in the bookstore. Though the crowd is running left-to-right while Eva faces the viewer, a tweak on the direction of the crowd would really bring it home. In fact, having them swirl around her – as in a vortex of humanity – could be quite powerful. I sent this sketch off to the art director at Simon & Schuster to await feedback. In the rarest of circumstances, I was informed that the team liked all three designs and that I could ultimately choose which image to use on the book’s jacket.

Wow. That never happens.

Everyone I shared my sketches with responded to different images. To get some public opinion, I conducted a little research test and posted all three on my facebook and twitter page. To my delight, I received feedback from many of my readers including the likes of Jenni Holm, Mike Mignola and even Jim Gurney. Though many picked up on my thinking of the third sketch, the first drawing (of Eva on the rim of ruined city) received the most positive responses. When I tallied up the comments, sketch #1 took it by a landslide.

Understandably, this was small group responding but the feedback was undeniable. Perhaps there was something in that original concept that was speaking to people. Perhaps it was a child facing the realities of the world while standing on the brink of adulthood? Perhaps the composition of the image itself resonated as something they’d seen before? Perhaps it was simply because Eva appeared alone, yet determined, in the wide expanse of the world – ready to take on the challenge of another day.

Invigorated, I went back to the drawing board and gave it one more shot.

Now there was something about the drawing that was intrinsic to the theme of this story. The splendor and danger of our natural world contrasted with the splendor of mankind’s capabilities and the danger we can inflict upon one another. Eva is balanced between both worlds. In the final sketch, I put the horizon right in the middle of the image to drive that point home. Eva is caught between two worlds. Will she ever find her home – her WondLa – in either of them?

After the sketch was approved it was onto color studies to find just the right palette to convey the mood of the book and the emotion of the scene. But more on that next time…

8 comments

I like all of them, except for the fairy wings one. The rest of them are incredible, and convey such emotion and action. I wish that I could create art like that!

Also, I can’t shake off this feeling that the color palette for The Battle for WondLa might be red (red for war, the red of the sunrise or sunset), though that may just be in my head and my head alone. Whatever the color palette ends up being, I know that it will be perfect.

I agree with the idea of a red cover! Since there was a green one and a blue one, a red tone would likely make sense in terms of spicing up the colors. After all, J.K. Rowling used a red cover for the Deathly Hallows to show the book’s bloodshed, passion, and changes. I actually like the fairy wings cover-it’s regal in looking like a cape, and since Eva is supposed to look like a nymph, or a forest fairy, that look would enhance that point. But I see the point in that she looks meeker there, and less mature.

And don’t forget, in the Matched trilogy the covers went from green to blue to red. Good point about red being the color of passion and change.

If Eva had wings, I would love that, since as you said it shows her being a nymph. Her position would need to be different, though, and probably in a more organic setting. I just wasn’t crazy about the aforementioned picture.

On a side note, what do you think will happen in this book? I wonder who dies ( *hands in praying position* please not Rovender, anyone but Rovender and Eva), and whether the Orbonians or Cadmus win. I really want the Orbonians to win, since the world technically doesn’t belong to the humans anymore, because the “aliens” brought the planet back to life. I still think that the humans deserve a home, but they should break out of the bubble that they’ve been living in and change themselves by integrating themselves into the new world (and preferably turn Cadmus into a bush or something of the sort).

I love how the cover turned out! I agree with everyone else that a red color palette would be cool, but a purple one might be nice too, purple being a dramatic and dark color. Looking forward to the conclusion! (And praying Rovee will live!!)

A purple one would be cool, since it would break from the pattern that’s already been set by other books. And yes, let’s pray for Rovee to live. I’d be heartbroken if he died, since he’s all the family that Eva has. Well, him and Otto.

Thanks for showing us your process! I imagine her standing on top of some broken down robotics from the nature vs. technological battle. Can’t wait to see what you end up with for the cover along with the rest of the illustrations in the book

Yes, thank you for showing us the way you do it. (Please, though, don’t let Rovender die!)
The second to last one is my favorite, because Eva’s look of wonder and the willingness to take anything on just struck me as the best cover. With the horizon, though, I can’t decide which of the last two I like better.
I agree that the color palette should definitely not be green. I like red or purple, though dark blue and black or purple and black would not seem out of place.